Blue Room
The Customer Room of the House-Building Logic
In the Blue Room, it's all about the customer. Not abstract "the industry," but concrete: For whom exactly are we doing this and why should anyone care?
- For whom are we creating value?
- What drives these customers?
- What problems do they really want to solve?
This section delivers validated customer segments, personas, and a deep understanding of Jobs-to-Be-Done as the foundation for the value proposition.
Why the Blue Room is Crucial
A general statement like "all factories" is too vague. The Blue Room forces you to be specific:
- Who is the customer really?
- What is their real problem?
- Who decides, who uses, who pays?
Important: In the Blue Room, we only look at the customer's reality – no solutions yet!
The 3 Levels of Customer Analysis
The Blue Room works through three building levels:
| Level | Focus | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Segments | Define target groups | Clear customer groups, prioritization |
| 2. Stakeholders | Identify participants | Decision-making map |
| 3. Persona & JTBD | Deep understanding | Jobs, Pains, Gains |
Level 1: Customer Segments
Before you develop solutions, you need to know for whom you're developing them. A general statement like "all factories" is too vague. With structured market segmentation, you identify clear, non-overlapping customer segments and prioritize them by attractiveness.
Segmentation Criteria
| Criterion | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Industry | Customer's industrial sector | Automotive, Pharma, Mechanical Engineering |
| Company Size | SME vs. Corporation | < 250 employees, 250-1000, > 1000 |
| Facility Type | Type of production facilities | Discrete manufacturing, Process industry |
| Digital Maturity | Digitalization status | Beginner, Advanced, Digital Native |
| Geography | Regional differences | DACH, EU, Global |
| Problem Urgency | Urgency of need | Acute, Medium-term, Strategic |
Segment Prioritization
After identification: Which segment is most important?
| Evaluation Criterion | Questions | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Market Potential | How large is the segment? | High |
| Accessibility | Do we already have contacts? | Medium |
| Problem Urgency | How urgent is the need? | High |
| Willingness to Pay | Is there budget for solutions? | High |
| Fit | Does the segment match our strengths? | Medium |
At the end, you should have 1-2 core segments prioritized that you focus on. Better to understand one segment properly than five superficially.
Level 2: Stakeholder Analysis
Now we zoom out: Who is all involved? Not just "the customer," but all people who co-decide or are affected. With Stakeholder Mapping, you systematically visualize the influence and roles of all participants – especially important in complex decision structures in B2B environments.
Typical Stakeholders in B2B Context
| Stakeholder | Role | Typical Interests | Influence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Management | Decision-maker | ROI, strategic direction | Very high |
| Production Manager | User/Influencer | Efficiency, availability | High |
| Maintenance | User | Fewer failures, simple processes | Medium |
| Procurement | Decision-maker | Price, terms, comparability | High |
| IT Department | Gatekeeper | Security, integration, standards | High |
| Works Council | Influencer | Jobs, data protection | Medium |
| Compliance | Gatekeeper | Regulation, documentation | Medium |
| Platform Operator | Partner | Interoperability, standards | Variable |
| Data Space Operator | Partner | Governance, compliance | Variable |
Stakeholder Matrix
Map each stakeholder by Influence and Proximity to Problem:
| Far from Problem | Close to Problem | |
|---|---|---|
| High Influence | Inform & convince | Core Stakeholder |
| Low Influence | Observe | Involve as user |
Key Questions for Stakeholder Analysis
- Who talks? Which people are involved in conversations?
- Who really decides? Who has budget and decision authority?
- Who suffers most? Who has the greatest problem pressure?
- Who could block? IT, works council, compliance?
Level 3: Persona & Jobs, Pains, Gains
From the chosen core segment, you take one or more example people. The Jobs-to-Be-Done (JTBD) approach captures not only what customers say they need, but what they really want to achieve – on functional, emotional, and social levels. Additionally, a Pain/Gain prioritization helps evaluate the most important problems and desires by frequency, intensity, and solvability.
Persona Template
| Element | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Name & Role | Fictional name, job title | Christian, 48, Production Manager |
| Company | Size, industry | Mid-sized machine builder, 350 employees |
| Responsibility | What are they measured on? | Downtime, OEE, production costs |
| Daily Routine | Typical tasks | Shift planning, incident management |
| Goals | What do they want to achieve? | Higher availability, less stress |
| Frustrations | What annoys, blocks? | Firefighting mode, lack of transparency |
Jobs-to-Be-Done (JTBD)
The JTBD framework captures what customers really want to achieve — not what they say they need.
| Job Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Functional | What task should be done? | Ensure machine availability |
| Emotional | How does the customer want to feel? | Safe, in control, not stressed |
| Social | How does the customer want to be perceived? | As competent, innovative, forward-thinking |
Customers don't buy products — they "hire" solutions to get a job done. Understand the job, not the feature.
Pains (Problems)
What are the daily difficulties? What annoys?
| Pain Category | Questions | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Time Waste | What costs unnecessary time? | Manual data entry, troubleshooting |
| Cost Drivers | What causes high costs? | Unplanned downtime, overstock |
| Risks | What do customers fear? | Production failures, quality problems |
| Frustrations | What annoys in daily life? | Lack of transparency, firefighting mode |
| Blockers | What prevents success? | Missing data, IT/OT complexity |
Gains (Benefits)
What would be a real win for the customer?
| Gain Category | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Required | Must at least be fulfilled | Reliability, data security |
| Expected | Assumed as standard | User-friendliness, support |
| Desired | Real added value | Proactive warnings, better predictability |
| Unexpected | Would delight | AI recommendations, automatic optimization |
Prioritization
Not all pains and gains are equally important:
| Criterion | Description |
|---|---|
| Frequency | How often does the problem occur? |
| Intensity | How strong is the pain (time, money, nerves)? |
| Solvability | Can we address the problem? |
| Willingness to Pay | Would the customer pay for it? |
Input & Output
← Input from Entrance Area
- Initial idea for a data-driven offering
- Company role and scope
Output for Red Room →
- Validated customer segments
- Personas with jobs, pains, gains
Output of the Blue Room
Market Segmentation
Validated target groups with prioritization
Stakeholder Matrix
All actors with influence and interest
Personas
Detailed profiles with context
Pains & Gains
Prioritized list as input for Red Room
Quality Gate: Blue Room
Before moving to the Red Room, check:
The Blue Room is the heart of customer orientation. The better you understand your customers, the more relevant and successful your value proposition will be. Here you'll immediately notice: Does our idea solve a real problem – or did we just like it ourselves?